GIM 13 – Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Rates
Contents
Background
Persons / Offices Affected
University Policy
Purpose
Facilities and Administrative (F&A) rate policy applicable to sponsored programs.
Background
The Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (2 CFR Chapter I, Chapter II, Part 200, also known as the “Uniform Guidance”) includes principles for determining costs applicable to grants, contracts, and other agreements between the Federal Government and non-federal entities, including institutes of higher education (IHE’s). The Uniform Guidance defines criteria for determining both direct and F&A costs. In addition, the Uniform Guidance establishes a mechanism for higher education institutions to calculate, negotiate, and recover F&A costs from Federal and other sponsors.
Direct costs are those identified specifically with a particular sponsored project with a relatively high degree of accuracy. F&A costs are those costs incurred for a common or joint purpose benefiting more than one cost objective that cannot be readily assigned to a particular sponsored project. F&A costs are also referred to as indirect costs or IDCs.
Management Accounting and Analysis (MAA) develops and negotiates the University of Washington’s (UW) F&A Rate with the Federal Government’s Department of Health and Human Services, Cost Allocation Services (HHS-CAS). F&A Rates are based on the UW’s actual operating costs. In accordance with the Uniform Guidance, the UW assesses its F&A Costs on a regular basis and allocates these costs to different activities, such as research or teaching, proportionate to the benefit provided. Once all F&A Costs are determined, the UW then determines the portion of those F&A Costs that are attributable to research. This information is then reviewed by HHS-CAS and F&A Rates are negotiated for the next four to five years. HHS-CAS then issues a document, the F&A Rate Agreement, with the final rates.
Persons / Offices Affected
Principal Investigators (PI), Research Personnel, Research Administration Personnel, Academic Unit Chair, Dean’s Office, eGC1 Reviewers, Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP), Grant and Contract Accounting (GCA), Management Accounting and Analysis (MAA), Office of Planning and Budgeting (OPB).
University Policy
Per Executive Order 34, it is UW policy to seek full reimbursement of F&A Costs in connection with sponsored programs unless precluded by sponsor policy or exceptional circumstances. Accordingly, the UW applies F&A Rates to sponsored program budgets consistent with the F&A Rate Agreement unless a circumstance below applies. Deviations from this policy require approval via an F&A Waiver.
All F&A Rates are summarized in the F&A Rate Table.
Circumstances
| Description | F&A Guidance |
|---|---|
| Affiliated Organizations (such as Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center) |
The UW will accept F&A Rates established by written agreement with an affiliated organization. |
| Federal sponsors that cap rates (including Federal flow-through, no matter the pass-through entity type) | The UW will accept the F&A rate as limited by Federal statute or regulation, or when approved by a federal awarding agency head or delegate based on documented justification, and after proper notification to the federal Office of Management and Budget. The criteria used to cap the F&A Rate must be publicly available. |
| Non-Federal government entities (state, local, or foreign) | The UW will accept the sponsor’s F&A policy if established by statute, in the official program announcement, or on the sponsor-approved application form. |
| Non-Profit Sponsors | The UW will accept the sponsor’s F&A policy if the policy is published on the sponsor website, in the official program announcement, or on the sponsor-approved application forms.
Alternatively, if the entity is listed on the Non-Profit Sponsor F&A Rates the F&A Rate listed will be accepted as the F&A Rate for that sponsor, unless otherwise specified by that sponsor by policy, website, program announcement or application form. |
| Industry Research Affiliate Programs | UW Corporate & Foundation Relations – Industry Research Affiliate Programs. Review information for Industry Research Affiliate Programs Rate |
| Industry Sponsored Clinical Trials | The UW has an established rate for Industry Sponsored Clinical Trials. |
| A single project with a total cost of $5,000 or less over the life of the award | The UW will accept an F&A Rate cap for single project with a total cost of $5,000 (including all supplements) or less over the life of the award.
This exception does not apply to multiple awards of $5,000 or less from the same sponsor for the same project nor does it apply to industry sponsors. |
| Award Transfer to the UW | When a PI transfers to the UW from another institution and the sponsor reissues the award to the UW, the UW will accept the originally awarded F&A Rate.
This does not apply to requests for supplemental funding after the award has been transferred to the UW. |
| Research storage, managed servers and cloud services provided by UW Information Technology (IT), via vendor contract managed by UW IT, or through Genome Sciences Computer Services Center. | UW Information Technology (UW-IT) offers large scale storage services, compute services (managed physical and virtual servers), and related infrastructure and platform services, through a combination of on-campus facilities and contracts with cloud service vendors such as Microsoft and Amazon. Genome Sciences offers large scale data storage and compute services through its Computer Services Center. These costs are identified under UW object code 03-04 (Rsrch Strg, Compt&Cloud) and are exempt from F&A. |
Procedures and Guidance
Follow procedures and guidance outlined in this section.
- F&A Rates
- Applying F&A Rate and Rate Changes
- Provisional Rate
- Activity Types
- Activity Locations
- Leased Spaces
- Activity at Two or More Locations
- F&A Base
- Subawards and F&A Rates
- F&A Rate Waiver
F&A Rates
The F&A Rate Table provides a summary of approved rates from the F&A Rate Agreement, to be used for proposal preparation.
Applying F&A Rates and Rate Changes
The effective period for each F&A Rate is in the F&A Rate Agreement.
Time of Proposal
In proposals, the F&A Rate in effect at the start of a budget period should be used for that entire budget period. Use the provisional rate when the period of performance in the proposal budget extends beyond the expiration date of the last predetermined rate in the F&A Rate Agreement.
EXAMPLE: Multi-year award with budget period different than UW fiscal year.
The F&A Rate Agreement lists the following F&A Rates by UW fiscal year:
July 2013 – June 2014: 55%
July 2014 – June 2015: 57%
| Budget Period | Start Date | End Date | F&A Rate | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | April 2014 | March 2015 | 55% | F&A Rate on April 2014 is 55% and is used for the one Budget Period |
| 2 | April 2015 | March 2016 | 57% | F&A Rate on April 2015 is 57% and is used for the one Budget Period |
Time of Award
The awarded F&A Rate is the F&A Rate that applies.
Note: There are cases when a Federal sponsor issues an award with two F&A Rates in a single budget period when the budget period crosses a UW fiscal year.
EXAMPLE: The F&A Rate Agreement listed the following F&A Rates by UW fiscal year
- July 2013 – June 2014: 55%
- July 2014 – June 2015: 57%
- July 2015 – June 2016: 54%
A two-year award has budget years of April to March. The sponsor issues the award based on the fiscal year rates as follows:
| Budget Period | Start Date | End Date | F&A Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | April 2014 | June 2014 | 55% |
| July 2014 | March 2015 | 57% | |
| 2 | April 2015 | June 2015 | 57% |
| July 2015 | March 2016 | 54% |
Post Award Rate Changes
F&A Rates on an award only change when the:
- Sponsor modifies the F&A Rate on an existing award, or
- New effective rate is lower than the Provisional rate (see below) used in the proposal.
Provisional Rates
A Provisional Rate is a temporary rate, stated in the F&A Rate Agreement, used when the award period of performance extends beyond the expiration date of the last predetermined rate in the F&A Rate Agreement.
If the new Final F&A Rate is less than the Provisional Rate used in a proposal, the new Final F&A Rate will be applied to the award and, if necessary, retroactive to its effective date.
In all other cases, awards already established in the UW Financial system will not be adjusted and the F&A Rate in the award is the applicable rate.
| Provisional Rate used in Proposal |
Final Rate from New Rate Agreement |
Rate used in UW Financial System |
|---|---|---|
|
55.5% |
55.5% |
55.5% |
|
55.5.% |
56% |
55.5% |
|
55.5% |
54% |
54% |
Activity Types
The major functions of an institution, as defined in Federal Uniform Guidance, include Organized Research, Instruction, Other Sponsored Activities and Other Institutional Activities. Sponsored Program Activity Type is a factor in determining applicable F&A rate(s).
Organized Research:
All research & development activities sponsored by federal or non-federal agencies & organizations.
| Organized Research Type | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Research: Basic | Systematic study directed toward fuller knowledge or understanding of fundamental aspects of phenomena & of observable facts without specific applications towards processes or productions in mind. Examples: NIH R01, R03, R21; SBIR and STTR Phase I, K99/R00 | |
| Research: Applied | Systematic study to gain knowledge or understanding to meet a specific recognized need. Examples: NIH R01, R21, SBIR, STTR, Phase II | |
| Development | Systematic use of knowledge or understanding gained from research directed toward production of useful materials, devices, systems, or methods, including design & development of prototypes & processes. Examples: SBIR, STTR, Phase III (can include Phase II if FOA specifies for development stage) | |
| Fellowship: Research Undergraduate | Undergraduate fellowships focused on training in research techniques. Examples: NIH, HRSA, AHA Individual Fellowships (F series), CDC Public Health Fellowship Opportunities | |
| Fellowship: Research Graduate/ Professional | Graduate fellowships focused on training in research techniques. Examples: NIH, HRSA, AHA Individual Fellowships (F series) | |
| Other Training: Research | Activities involving training of individuals in research techniques where training is in the same facility as other research & development. Example: NIH Research Training Grants (T series) | |
| Clinical Trial, Federal | A human subjects research study, the primary purpose of which is to assess the safety and/or efficacy in humans of a drug, device, diagnostic, treatment, preventive measure, or similar intervention through testing of the intervention on patients in a clinical setting. Examples: Investigator-initiated Extended Clinical Trial, Exploratory Clinical Trials, Multi-Site Trials. | |
Instruction:
Specific instructional or training activity established by an award.
| Instruction Type | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Training and Development (UW internal) | Non-research related instruction including conferences & workshops, where primary purpose is training & development of UW students and/or personnel.
Examples:
|
|
| Fellowship: Non-Research Undergraduate | Undergraduate fellowships not focused on training in research techniques. Includes sponsored internships, apprenticeships and instructional fellowships. | |
| Fellowship: Non-Research Graduate/ Professional | Graduate fellowships not focused on training in research techniques. Sponsored internships, apprenticeships and instructional fellowships. | |
Other Sponsored Activities (OSA):
Sponsored awards (federal and non-federal) for activities other than instruction and organized research.
| OSA Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Professional Development/Public Service (UW external) | Non-research related instruction, including conferences & workshops, where primary purpose is training & development of non-UW students & personnel.
Examples:
|
| Construction | Construction of new buildings and expansion, modernization, or completion of existing buildings. Example: NIH C06 Research Facilities Construction Grants |
| Equipment | Review definition of equipment. Examples: NSF MRI awards, NIH S10 awards |
| Clinical Trial, Non-Federal (including Industry Sponsored) | A human subjects research study, the primary purpose of which is to assess the safety and/or efficacy in humans of a drug, device, diagnostic, treatment, preventive measure, or similar intervention through testing of the intervention on patients in a clinical setting. |
| IPA/JPA/Staff Assignment | Inter-personnel Agreements, Joint Personnel Agreements and Staff Assignments in which employees work on-site at another entity and UW is reimbursed for the salary and associated expenses.
Examples:
|
| Other Sponsored Activity (OSA) | Sponsored programs and projects which involve the performance of work other than instruction and organized research and not otherwise specified above as a sub-category under the Major Function of OSA.
Examples:
|
Activity Locations
In addition to the Sponsored Program Activity Type, there are different F&A Rates based on location as defined in the F&A Rate Agreement.
On Campus:
Sponsored projects carried out at Seattle, Bothell, and Tacoma campuses, Harborview Medical Center, and Friday Harbor Labs.
South Lake Union:
Examples: Rosen, Brotman, SLU II A, B, and C buildings, 750 Republican and 1616 Eastlake.
Applied Physics Lab (APL), Research Vessel and Primate Center:
If the administrative unit responsible for a project is the Applied Physics Lab, Regional Primate Center, or Research Vessels, those respective rates should be used, irrespective of the actual location of the research.
Applied Physics Lab (APL)
If any award activities involve APL locations or personnel, those costs must use the APL F&A rate, regardless of the total direct cost per year.
Consult with APL before calculating APL components of the proposal budget to accurately incorporate their costs.
| Explanation | Rate to Apply | Budget |
|---|---|---|
| Location 1 on Campus | On-Campus | 125,000 |
| Location 2 APL | APL rate applies to APL costs | 110,000 |
| Total Direct Costs, less than 250,000 with APL location involved | 235,000 | |
Primate Center
P51 Washington National Primate Center Core Grant “A” Rate
Core grant funding is for the Washington National Primate Center (WaNPRC). The Core Rate (“A” rate) is used for all Core grant activity, no matter where located.
Non-Core Federal “B” Rate
The WaNPRC “B” rate is used for non-Core Federal sponsored programs at WaNPRC. The Non-Core Federal “B” rate is used for these Federally funded sponsored programs, even if personnel working at WaNPRC on the sponsored program award activity have other non-WaNPRC lab space or office space.
Non-Core non-Federal “C” Rate
The WaNPRC “C” Rate is used for non-Core non-Federal sponsored programs at WaNPRC. The Non-Core “C” rate is used for these non-federally funded sponsored programs, even if personnel working at WaNPRC on the sponsored program award activity have other non-WaNPRC lab space or office space.
Split Rate Methodology: When Non-Core Primate Center location is one of two or more locations of the sponsored program award activity
When the Primate Center is one of two or more locations of the sponsored program award activity, and the total direct cost in a budget year is less than $250,000, a single F&A rate will apply.
Use one of the following two methodologies to decide on the single rate to use when the Primate Center is one of the locations:
- When UW salary costs are 20% or more of the overall project total costs: The rate will be the one applicable to the location where the preponderance (more than 50%) of UW salaries will perform the work for that budget year.
- Alternate Method: When the UW salary costs are less than 20% of the overall project total costs, with the balance of costs being Primate Center non-salary costs, use the applicable Primate Center rate as the single rate.
If the total direct costs in a budget year are $250,000 or more, split rates using standard split rate methodology, which is identifying direct costs by the location where incurred, and applying the appropriate F&A rate. Note that Primate Center non-salary costs are always identified with the Primate Center location.
WaNPRC FAQS
- What do I need to know when WaNPRC is involved in a sponsored program proposal?
- How do I split F&A Rates when the Primate Center is involved?
- Which single F&A rate applies when the Primate Center is involved?
- WaNPRC F&A Rate FAQs
Research Vessel
Review rate information from the F&A Rate Table.
Off-Campus:
These locations are considered off-campus:
- Leased facilities where space-related costs (e.g. rent, utilities, & maintenance) are included in the proposal budget to be charged to the award
- Facilities made available by a non-university organization at no cost
- Locations not listed above where work is being conducted over an uninterrupted period of 30 or more calendar days
- Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA)
- Pack Forest, Big Beef Creek, and Olympic Natural Resource Center
Leased Spaces
If you are unsure whether a specific location is leased or owned, check with your department administrator, school/college or review GeoSIMS.
As stated in off-campus locations, use the off-campus rate for award activity conducted in leased facilities where space related-costs (e.g. rent, utilities, maintenance) are charged to the award.
For leased space locations where space-related costs are not charged to the award, use the F&A Rate that corresponds to the Sponsored Program Activity Type conducted at the Location.
Examples:
If rent is not charged to the award on a leased space because the UW is covering the costs centrally, and the Activity Type is Organized Research, use the On-Campus Organized Research rate.
If rent is covered by an external entity and neither the sponsor nor the UW is paying rent, charge the Off-Campus rate.
Activity at Two or More Locations
If the award activity will be conducted at two or more locations, more than one F&A Rate might apply in certain circumstances.
Review guidance for how budgets are established with more than one F&A Rate.
To determine if more than one F&A Rate applies, follow these principles:
Annual Budget Direct Costs are Less Than $250,000
When the direct costs in a budget year are less than $250,000, a single F&A Rate must be applied for that year.
Use the F&A Rate that applies to the location where the preponderance (more than 50%) of UW salaries will perform the work for that budget year.
| Description | Budget Year Total Direct Costs |
Direct UW Salaries | Percent of Salary |
Applicable F&A Rate* |
Total Budget |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location 1 is on Campus; F&A Rate 55% |
$100,000 | $75,000 | 75% | 55% | $155,000 |
| Location 2 is off Campus; F&A Rate 26%s |
$125,000 | $25,000 | 25% | 55% | $193,750 |
| Total | $225,000 | $348,750 |
*The applicable F&A Rate is 55% because the preponderance of UW salaries is at Location 1 (75% of the total UW salaries).
Annual Budget Direct Costs are $250,000 or More
When the direct costs per budget year are $250,000 or more, the applicable rate should be used for each location.
Use one of the following methods that apply to your situation.
When direct costs can specifically identified by location, apply the appropriate F&A Rate to each location’s direct costs.
| Description | Budget | F&A Rate to apply |
|---|---|---|
| Location 1 is On-Campus | 175,000 | On-Campus rate |
| Location 2 is Off-Campus | 125,000 | Off-Campus rate |
| Total direct costs are over $250k – Apply effective rate to costs per location |
300,000 | more than one rate applies |
Costs incurred must be allocated by the location where they were incurred. If the actual cost allocation differs significantly from the budget, rebudgeting may be required.
When direct costs cannot be identified by location:
- Determine the ratio of UW salary costs at each location
- Allocate the non-salary costs, excluding subawards, in the same ratio to each location
- Include subaward costs in the direct cost calculation for the location that will administer the subaward
- Apply the appropriate F&A Rate to each location’s direct costs
Costs incurred must be allocated by the same ratio as budgeted. If the actual cost allocation differs significantly from the budget, rebudgeting may be required.
F&A Base
The F&A Base is the Direct Costs to which the F&A Rate is applied.
For Federal Awards, the F&A Rate Agreement provides information on the appropriate F&A Base. The most common F&A base used is modified total direct costs (MTDC).
However, individual federal agency regulations, or terms and conditions may supercede the F&A Rate Agreement.
For non-federal awards, the sponsor requirements should be followed. In the absence of any requirements, the Total Direct Cost (TDC) base will be used.
F&A Base Type Examples
| Description | Direct Costs | Excluded from Base | Included in Base (MTDC) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salary + Fringe | 250,000 | 250,000 | |
| Travel | 10,000 | 10,000 | |
| Subaward ($125,000 total)* | 125,000 | 100,000 | 25,000 |
| Equipment | 50,000 | 50,000 | |
| MTDC | $ 285,000 | ||
| F&A @ 55% on MTDC | $ 156,750 | ||
| TDC + F&A on MTDC Budget= Total Costs | $ 591,750 | ||
*First $25,000 of each subaward is included in the base calculations per subaward.
| Description | TDC |
|---|---|
| Salary + Fringe | $ 250,000 |
| Travel | $ 10,000 |
| Subaward ($125,000 total) | $ 125,000 |
| Equipment | $ 50,000 |
| TDC | $ 435,000 |
| F&A @ 10% on TDC | $ 43,500 |
| TDC+F&A on TDC Budget= Total Costs | $ 478,500 |
Subawards and F&A Rates
Outgoing Subawards
On all subawards (federal and non-federal), the UW must flow down sponsor requirements from the award into the subaward agreement, including those related to the F&A Rate.
If the sponsor allows for use of a federally negotiated F&A Rate, then the subrecipient should use their federally negotiated F&A Rate.
If the sponsor has an F&A Rate cap policy, the subrecipient must use the cap.
If the subrecipient does not have a federally negotiated F&A Rate, and if the sponsor does not have a rate cap policy, the maximum F&A Rate the subrecipient can use is 15% Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC) base.
Examples:
- The sponsor allows the use of a federally negotiated F&A Rate. The UW’s federally negotiated F&A Rate is 55%; the subrecipient’s federally negotiated F&A Rate is 60%. The subrecipient may use an F&A rate of 60% in its budget.
- The sponsor has an F&A Rate cap of 15%. If this F&A Rate is accepted by the UW, then both the UW and the subrecipient can only use an F&A Rate of 15%.
- The sponsor allows use of a federally negotiated F&A Rate but the subrecipient does not have a federally negotiated F&A Rate. The subrecipient can use an F&A Rate not to exceed 10% of MTDC.
Incoming Subawards
If the UW receives a subaward, the pass-through entity flows down originating sponsor requirements from the award into the subaward agreement, including those related to the F&A Rate.
The UW applies this GIM 13 policy, when receiving funding from a pass-through entity. This is the case even if a pass-through entity may have a lower F&A Rate than the UW.
F&A Rate Waiver
The UW does not waive F&A costs unless the PI presents a justification as to why the UW should waive such costs which is accepted by the department, School and the Office of Sponsored Programs. Requests must be made using the F&A Waiver Request form to capture PI, department, and school approval prior to submission in SAGE.
The proposal budget submitted to the Sponsor must use the rate approved in the F&A Rate waiver.
Responsibilities
Director, Office of Sponsored Programs
- Evaluates F&A Waiver requests and makes the final decision as to approval/denial.
- Delegates authority to approve/deny F&A waivers within OSP, per signature authority delegation.
- Reviews policy and underlying procedures and guidance on a periodic basis and in response to F&A rate changes or federal regulatory changes.
Dean, Director, Unit Head
- Establishes effective processes and controls to ensure compliance with this policy.
- Communicates these practices to all responsible employees within the College, School and departments.
- Review F&A waiver requests received from PI.
Department Chair
- Establishes effective processes and controls to ensure compliance with this policy.
- Communicates these practices to all responsible employees within the department.
- Review F&A waiver requests received from PI.
Principal Investigators
- Prepares proposal budgets and justifies proposed expenses.
- Determine the applicable rate
- Determines whether a request to waive F&A costs should be made via F&A Waiver
- Adjusts proposal budget as needed to accommodate approved rate waiver or to charge full applicable F&A costs if an F&A waiver approval cannot be granted by sponsor’s deadline.
- Ensures the appropriateness of all charges on sponsored projects including application of costs to the correct budget so that F&A rates are applied as awarded.
- Ensures the consistent application of direct costing practices to federally sponsored projects for which they are the PI, as set out in GIM 23.
Office of Sponsored Programs
- Assists in the interpretation of federal guidance, such as the Uniform Guidance.
- Develops and maintains policies and procedures in accordance with regulations.
- Maintains record of sponsored project proposal and associated sponsors’ published F&A policy documents.
- Creates funding action when new sponsored projects are established, using the applicable F&A rate awarded to the UW.
- Communicates with sponsor if there are questions about the F&A rate or base applicability to a particular project.
Unit Administrator/Fiscal Lead
- Assists principal investigators in preparing proposal budgets, justifying expenses, charging costs and tracking expenses.
- Reviews sponsored project proposals for justification of direct costs requested, especially when costs normally charged as F&A costs are proposed as direct costs.
- In conjunction with principal investigators, maintains financial records for reviews by internal or external auditors.
Grant and Contract Accounting
- Review F&A Rate information on award document and Funding Action.
- Establishes award budget number(s)
- Maintains system for charging F&A on award budget.
Management Accounting and Analysis
- Collects & analyzes data to prepare F&A rate agreement proposal
- Submits F&A rate proposal to HHS-CAS
- Negotiates the F&A Rate agreement
Vice Provost for Research
- Approves or denies F&A Waiver Requests that are strategic in nature.
- Considers any appeal by a PI on decision made by the Director, Office of Sponsored Programs on an F&A Waiver request.
Definitions
Capital Expenditures
Building alterations or renovation costs over $25,000.
Direct Costs
Those costs that can be identified specifically with a particular sponsored project, an instructional activity, or any other institutional activity, or that can be directly assigned to such activities relatively easily with a high degree of accuracy.
Equipment
Equipment is the tangible non-expendable personal property having a useful life of more than one year, and an acquisition cost of $5,000 or more per unit.
Facility & Administrative (F&A) Costs
Costs that are incurred for common or joint objectives and, therefore, cannot be identified readily and specifically with a particular sponsored project, an instructional activity, or any other institutional activity. Also referred to as Indirect Costs (IDC).
F&A Rate Agreement
The F&A Agreement includes rates and associated cost basis agreed to between the UW and the HHS-CAS. Please see the F&A Rate Table for a summary.
Fellowships
Awards that consist of a stipend payment from the sponsor to an undergraduate, graduate, professional or post-doctoral student.
Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC)
An F&A Base with a select group of direct costs, defined by the federal government (2 CFR 200.68). MTDC includes “…. direct salaries and wages, applicable fringe benefits, materials and supplies, services, travel, and up to the first $25,000 of each subaward (regardless of the period of performance the subaward).”
MTDC, as defined by Uniform Guidance, “excludes Equipment (including equipment fabrication), capital expenditures, charges for patient care, and tuition remission, rental costs, scholarships fellowships, participant support costs, as well as the portion of each subaward in excess of $25,000.”
Award budgets with Participant Support costs includes a sub-budget with an F&A Rate of 0%. This way UW does not charge F&A on Participant Support.
Negotiated F&A Rate
Rate established by the federal government for a specified period of time. Negotiated rates can be:
Effective: The rate in “effect” for a specified period of time.
Final: Negotiated rate for the first year of the F&A rate agreement. During that year it is the “effective” rate.
Predetermined: negotiated rates for each fiscal year included in the effective period of the F&A rate agreement. identified as “Predet.” on the rate agreement. During those fiscal years it is the “effective”rate.
Provisional: A provisional rate is a temporary rate to be used in any period where a final or predetermined rate was not specified in the rate agreement.
Non-Profit
A tax-exempt organization operating under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Patient Care
Both inpatient and outpatient University hospital charges but not laboratory charges assessed through Recharge or Service centers even though the laboratory results may be used for patient care. Outpatient travel and volunteer incentive payments are not patient care costs and are subject to F&A Costs.
Research Affiliate Programs (RAP)
Designed to facilitate the transfer of knowledge to society by addressing specific problems shared by multiple industry partners. Supported by corporate sponsorship, these programs provide an avenue for industry to contribute to and sustain research and teaching in University departments and programs of interest. Corporate members typically attend annual meetings, receive copies of reports and publications, and have opportunities to recruit students. Review more information on Research Affiliate Programs.
Rental Costs
Costs associated with leased space such as rent, utilities and maintenance.
Salary & Wages
An F&A base used for some federal programs. Salary & Wages are the direct salaries and wages including vacation, holiday and sick pay and other paid absences but excluding other fringe benefits.
Scholarships
Funding that covers all or a portion of the costs of education under conditions specified by the sponsor. Scholarships may not represent either payment for employment services or for research that is mostly for the UW’s benefit.
Subaward
Binding legal contract between the UW and another institution regarding completion of a portion of a sponsored project. GIM 7
Total Direct Costs (TDC)
All direct cost on a sponsored award. This is an F&A Base that is used for sponsored awards.
Tuition
Tuition charges paid to the UW (including the operating fee portion of tuition paid on behalf of Graduate Assistants).
| Subject | Resource |
|---|---|
| Grant and Contract Support of University Activities | University of Washington Executive Order #34 |
| University of Washington Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Rate Agreement | F&A Rate Agreement |
| Federal Cost Principles | Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (2 CFR Chapter I, Chapter II, Part 200, Uniform Guidance |
| University’s Costing Policy | GIM 23 |
| UW Office of Management Accounting & Analysis | F&A Rates & Costs |
| Determining F&A Rates for Proposals | UW Institutional Facts & Rates: F&A Rates for Proposal Budgets |
| Subject | Contact | Phone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Application of F&A on Proposals & Awards | OSP | osp@uw.edu | 206-543-4043 |
| F&A Cost Calculation | MAA | ||
| Post Award application of F&A Rates | PAFC | gcafco@uw.edu |
Review Schedule
This policy is reviewed by the Office of Sponsored Programs at time of approval of new F&A rate agreement and as necessary to reflect changes in Federal regulation or University policies.
Change Notes
Details on changes to this GIM are available from the Office of Sponsored Programs, osp@uw.edu